As a wedding planner you pour your heart and soul into each detail of your couple’s wedding. Unfortunately, you might find yourself without quality photos of your work to show future clients after the event.

We are delighted to host a workshop specifically to teach wedding planners how to take better pictures. We will cover a range of topics to give you high quality images for your portfolio. Details are below.

Special thanks to Julianne Cragg of A Modern Proposal for visualizing and inspiring this workshop!

Just after Christmas we spent a very energetic hour with the Watt Family. All of these boys are cousins! It was great to see them all playing together.

If you have been following the construction of our portrait studio you are probably waiting for pictures with the drywall up.  Well, you don’t have to wait any longer!  The development is moving fast and the drywall is up.  As I type this post there are men working downstairs mudding and taping the walls.  In a few short weeks I will be able to show you completed pictures!  It’s been a fun project so far but we are looking forward to having a clean house again.

I’m so excited to have an article we wrote featured on the Professional Photographers of Canada blog!

For anyone who hasn’t read it yet, here is the whole article.  It’s full of great tips for budgeting for your dream wedding photographer.

One of the biggest decisions that every bride faces is how to budget for her big day. Websites and magazines provide checklists to help you allocate your budget for all of the details of your wedding, large and small. Every one of your friends who just got married will also be more than happy to give you wedding planning advice.

While these budgets can be a great place to start, nothing is set in stone, and you have to decide what is most important for YOUR wedding. For many brides, photography is THE most important thing for their wedding. All of the details of your wedding are important, but your photos are the only permanent record of your wedding day. Here are a few tips to help ensure you have budgeted enough for your wedding photography.

Do I need a professional?

My uncle can do it for me. These days anyone with a camera thinks that they are a photographer, but a professional has the experience, equipment, personality, and backup equipment to ensure that your photos are stunning and safeguarded.

How much is too much?

A few years ago, you could hire a great wedding photographer for $2000-$3000. These days, people are spending more on their photographer, and it’s not unusual to pay $5000+ for an amazing professional photographer for full day coverage with an album and disc. Why is it ‘so expensive’? There is a difference between amazing photography and poor photography. The talent of a true professional photographer can be the difference between ho-hum photos and stunning images of your most important day. Wedding photography is one field where you do get what you pay for.

How much coverage do I need?

Gone are the days of stiff portraits after a traditional ceremony. Many brides now want documentary-style coverage of their wedding. However, not everyone wants photos of getting ready. Or, your budget might not allow for hiring a pro for the whole day. Rather than hiring a mediocre photographer for the whole day, consider spending a bit extra and hiring a professional for less time.

Do I get a disc of images?

To some brides a disc is important, to some it is not. If you are a bride who values having a digital archive of your photos and the ability to print what you want, check to see if the disc is included, or if there is an extra charge. If the initial package price is low but there are fees after the fact, this may affect how a photographer will fit into your budget. Also, understand that there is a difference between a disc of high-resolution files that you can print to a large size, or downsized files (or low resolution) that can only be used for the web or small prints.

Do I need a wedding album?

You may have intentions of printing off wedding photos for your friends and family, or putting together your own wedding album. However, many brides find that after the wedding life gets busy, priorities shift, and the disc of wedding images gets put on the shelf. Also, technologies change and that disc will eventually be obsolete or may deteriorate. A good quality album will safeguard your memories for years. You should ensure your budget has enough room for a professional wedding album.

Can I personalize my wedding with photography?

You can combine other items from your budget, such as a guest book, thank you cards, and even invitations into your photography budget. Ask your photographer to do custom extras with your engagement and wedding photos.

Shouldn’t I get a discount for getting married on a Sunday or in the winter?

A photographer works just as hard on a Saturday in the summer as on a Sunday in December. You shouldn’t necessarily expect a discount if you’re not getting married on a Saturday.

It is a good thing that Haley left her job this year because I have been very busy! We are developing our basement into a portrait studio and office.

The construction has been going very well. Our carpenter, Curtis Hnidan, has been amazing at bringing everything together. He and his father Les have done all of the framing. Curtis has also helped us get our other trades. If you have a development that you want to do, give us a call and we will put you in touch.

Here are some pictures of the development. There will be more very soon. I just figured everything out with constructions permits and everything has passed inspection so far so now the construction is going fast!

This is the view from our studio to where our office will be. The room is an open concept with enough room for two backdrops and an area where we can have another set. It is very versatile. One of the reasons that we bought the house is that the ceilings in the basement are nine feet high which gives us good headroom to place lights above our subjects. Also, we have two areas to shoot from that are quite long. One is 34 feet and the other is 29 feet. This allows us to take pictures with a long lens, giving us more flattering pictures of our subjects than are possible in a smaller studio.

Keep coming back, I will be posting pictures with the drywall up by next week. I’m looking forward to covering up the pink walls .

Wow. We are overwhelmed – what an amazing response we had to the favourite images of 2009. Over 900 votes were cast!

Congratulations to our top three! It was so close, we decided that ALL THREE will receive a free mini-album of their wedding. Thank you to our couples for submitted their favourite images, everyone who voted, and all of the other photographers from around the world who commented on our blog.

#1: Shauntel & Jason

#2: Ashley & Rob

#3: Amita & Abheeshek

Hi everyone,

We’ve just returned from an amazing relaxing 10 days in Phoenix. Sigh. It was a great way to recharge our batteries and prep for an incredibly busy time meeting with new clients.

Of course, we can’t go anywhere without a camera (or can we? More on that later…) so Michael met up with the incredible Justine Miller from Phoenix to second with her on an engagement shoot with Jenna & Marc (you can see Justine’s blog post of them here).

Here are some of the shots Michael nabbed during the shoot.  Hot!!

And here’s Justine working her magic.

Speaking of magic, we went on the craziest road trip ever.  It all started with a cold.  Andrew had the sniffles and he fell asleep in the car while we were driving to the science center.  We decided to keep driving and let him have a good nap.  Well, 6 hours later we found ourselves in Disneyland!  Here’s an iPhone snap of  the wind farms in California.

We had nothing with us. No change of clothes, toiletries….camera….  (Now don’t worry, we had plenty of clothes and diapers for Andrew.  At least one of us was prepared!).  It was the most spontaneous thing we have done in a long time.  We picked up a little Canon from Target, spent the night at a Best Western, and took in Disneyland the next day.  It was amazing!  It was raining a bit, and so Disneyland was absolutely dead.  There were no lines, and we walked right on to every ride.  Andrew loved the rides.  He would cry when we got off the rides, try to squeeze through barriers to get to more rides, and kept saying ‘ride?, ride?’. We left when Andrew was ready for bed, and drove all night back to Phoenix.

The whole trip was so surreal, and it was a great break from my normal sensible, organized, well-thought-out self.  And that’s the story of Andrew’s first trip to Disneyland!  Here are a few snapshots.

To cap off the trip, we had a celebrity sighting in the Phoenix airport!  This is Michael and Andrew with Nick Stahl, the star of the HBO series Carnivale (sadly, I was watching the luggage at the time, so didn’t get to meet him).  For anyone who hasn’t watched this show, I suggest renting it.  It was a short-lived series, but like any HBO series, immaculately produced. (And yes, it’s super blurry, Nick’s wife took it on our iPhone – thanks!).

We are delighted to announce that we have been chosen to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards 2010 by Wedding Wire!  This award is given to the top 5% of local wedding professionals and recognizes excellence in quality and service.  We are so honoured to have received this award.  Thank you to all of our clients and fans for supporting us!

Joanne & Colin travelled from Lethbridge to find some nice white snow for their engagement photos. They are SO cute together! I love the nod to the Olympics – I need to get a pair of those gloves! Next time we see these two it will be much warmer, so look for their wedding this summer! Thanks you two for braving the cold with us.

2009 was another incredible year for us.  While I’m assembling this post, I’m amazed at how busy we were!  There are so many things that we were a part of that I’m not going to be able to share, otherwise this post would be 20 pages long. So we’re going to do something different and focus on what we think is most important – our clients.  Even more importantly, the images that they love!  We asked our wedding couples to share a memory and/or favourite image with us.

Here’s the best part – it’s a contest!  Vote for your favourite image, and the winning couple will win a free mini-album of their wedding! The first and second runners up will also receive a $50 gift certificate for Shandro Photo or Shandro Kids (their choice).

Without further ado….the best of 2009!
David & Laura

Diana & Jeremy

Renu & Garry

“The reason I chose this picture was because it is very different and unique. It shows our reflection in the puddle of water.”

Rob & Lindsay

“So our favourite picture is (no surprises here) the one of us smooching on the first hole of Northern Bear. The day was so perfect for us and that picture encompasses that. You see the beautiful green grass, the blue sky and the excitement of being together. It was the picture you used as a preview for our blog. I remember being at the hotel on our honeymoon and excitedly looking at that picture, the first wedding photo we got to see. Haley and Michael (and Andrew of course), we love you guys and love our wedding photos. Thank-you!”

Britt & Cody

“This picture is our favorite because it totally captures the love and romance of our day!”

Nicole & Jesse

Katy & Jon

Jessica & Jeremy

“We’re so happy we did something crazy on our wedding day!”

Shauntel & Jason

Daniela & Daniel

“Daniel and I love the river photo in our album. We explained what we’d like – a shot at the river without looking like we’re in the city – and Michael definitely gave us that. (People ask us where we were for that photo and are surprised that we are still in Edmonton.) Plus to get the shot, he got down and laid in shallow water and rocks in the fetal position. Thanks for doing whatever it takes!”

Clayton & Carly

Rorik & Julia

“Out of all the photos, it’s a hard decision! There are so many we like!”

Param & Ronnie

“Ronnie and I both love this picture because simply put…its perfect. You got the canola fields surrounding us and the temple in the far distance…there were a lot of comments from other people wondering if this picture was taken in India. Everything around us is calm, peaceful and romantic.”

Esther & Nathan

Neha & Sumit

“Best engagement session ever….great pictures and Michael showed us berries we could eat.. we had a snack and a great time! Also I love how you two add Hindi/Punjabi words to get people to look or smile. The guests loved it, and everyone truly smiles!”

Rena & Uche

“Ok…well that’s the HARDEST question ever! I have so many favorites!!! How about if I list a few of them and then you can decide????”

Stephanie & David

Raman & Raja

Cheryl & James

Carrie & Nick

“This is our favourite picture because it shows an amazing moment between Nick and I. We loved working with you and Michael.”

Melissa & Sean

Dayna & Ryan

“We had so much fun on the day of our vow renewals this fall. Y’know, we did have expectations for a great day, but it was so far surpassed I can’t even explain. I have to say, you guys really were such a huge part of that. Not being people who are big fans of having our pictures taken, we were sort of dreading the photo session part of the day. Little did we know, it was going to be one of our favorite times to remember.

We’d both heard horror stories of hours of over-posing and so much forced smiling, ending in sore faces. I’ve got to say that my face was sore from smiling so much, but none of it was forced. We had such a blast. From running through the cold and kinda wet, streets of downtown all gussied up in our finest, to walking into that wine bar, welcomed by an unexpected applause from all the patrons sitting at the tables. It was too fun, and I’ve got to say those drinks were delicious to top it off!

I just want to say thank you again for your amazing work, and really having none of it feeling like work, at least for us. We had such a fantastic day with you and can’t thank you enough for capturing every moment of it.”

Amita & Abheeshek

Ashley & Rob

And here is where you vote for your favourite.  The voting closes on February 19th, 2010.

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That wraps up the contest images. There are a couple of other important milestones and exciting events happened in 2009 that I want to share with you.

This year we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary, and our little guy turned one! 

Andrew is a very well travelled boy, having visited Phoenix, Mexico, Texas, Banff, Calgary, and Vancouver all in his first year. 

I know many of you are anxious for an announcement from us that we’re adding to our family. Not yet!  When I posted on Facebook that I had exciting news in December, it was the first thing to leap to people’s minds.  However, the exciting news was that I’m now a full time photographer (yay!) after leaving my day job.  Trust me, we know Andrew is super cute and another Shandro baby would probably be super cute too.  We need to save SOME surprises for the future! For now we are a happy little stay-at-home family of three, working on our business, and enjoying some much deserved family time. 

After losing my dad in November, our life came into a better perspective.  That’s one big reason that I took the leap to leave my day job.  Life is too short, and we need to love the ones we’re with and get as much out of life as we can. Nothing is more important than family.

A bunch of exciting things are coming up for us in 2010, and you’re just going to have to stay tuned!  We started Shandro Kids this year, the baby/maternity/family side to Shandro Photo.  It’s been a great success, and Shandro Kids is going to develop in a big and exciting way in 2010. We have so many amazing couples and families that we’re looking forward to working with this year.

Happy 2010 everyone!

- Haley, Michael, & Andrew Shandro